RTL Group today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire control of the UK-based video technology company Yospace. The transaction is expected to close 1 February 2019.

Yospace has developed one of the most advanced technologies for Server-Side Dynamic Ad Insertion (SSDAI) which allows the replacement of existing commercials from a broadcast stream with more targeted, personalised advertising. SSDAI is expected to become the de facto standard to seamlessly serve advertising spots in premium streaming environments. In essence, the groundbreaking Yospace technology delivers the right advertising, at the right time, according to the rules established by the media owners. The Yospace technology currently serves major media owners throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Customers include BT Sport, TV4, ITV, and Seven West Media.

Yospace focuses on the premium streaming segment which is also the fastest growing and most significant market for RTL Group’s global ad-tech company SpotX. This market segment includes video on demand (VOD) and live video that is streamed to any internet-connected device. As a result, the acquisition of Yospace complements RTL Group’s ad-tech stack by ensuring a key technology that can win, retain and scale premium media clients, including RTL Group’s broadcasters and streaming services.

Bert Habets, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RTL Group, says: “The acquisition of Yospace is an important step in building out our Total Video portfolio and will help drive two strategic goals at the same time. First, we gain a competitive, fully integrated and profitable solution which is key to further grow our ad-tech business. Our goal is to continue expanding SpotX into a leading, independent monetisation platform for broadcasters, video on demand services and publishers.

Secondly, this acquisition will also help build local streaming champions in the markets where we have strong families of channels. The Yospace technology makes advertising on streaming services more personal, which means a better consumer experience for superior monetisation of our premium advertising inventory.”

Tim Sewell, CEO at Yospace, says: “Our clients make significant investments in their video offerings and content licenses. Yospace has proven that it can provide an unmatched quality of service even with millions of concurrent users. This new relationship with RTL Group will not only allow us to extend our customer base to all entities of the biggest European broadcast and video network, but RTL Group is also fully committed to support the further roll out of our services to bring more innovative products to media owners around the world.”

RTL Group will pay up to US-$33 million (approx. €29 million) before cash and debt adjustments in connection with the full acquisition of Yospace, including upfront and performance related components.

Under the terms of the transaction, RTL Group will appoint three of five members to the Board of Yospace. Yospace CEO Tim Sewell and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) David Springall will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the company, reporting to its Board.